South Korea’s tech heavyweights are sharpening their India focus, with PUBG: Battlegrounds and Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) maker Krafton stepping beyond gaming to anchor a Rs 6,000 crore investment vehicle aimed squarely at India’s next wave of high-growth startups.
The proposed Unicorn Growth Fund, backed by Krafton, Naver, and Mirae Asset, is designed to target “soonicorns” or companies on the brink of unicorn status across technology-led sectors such as artificial intelligence, fintech, digital content, logistics, and more.
The fund is expected to begin operations in January 2026 with an initial corpus of Rs 3,000 crore, scaling up to Rs 6,000 crore over time.
Krafton and Naver will each commit roughly Rs 1,230 crore to the Korea-domiciled fund as limited partners, while Mirae Asset Venture India will manage the vehicle and contribute a slightly smaller amount.
With AI expected to reshape multiple industries over the next two years, the fund’s mandate will not be rigidly sector-bound, allowing it to move where innovation and scale converge.
The move also deepens Krafton’s evolution in India from a gaming publisher into a broader technology investor and ecosystem builder.
Best known locally for Battlegrounds Mobile India, the company has invested more than $200 million in Indian startups since 2021, spanning gaming, esports, digital entertainment, fintech, and content platforms.
Its portfolio already includes names such as JetSynthesys, Nodwin Gaming, Pratilipi, Kuku FM, Cashfree, and Shuru, alongside investments in domestic venture firms like 3one4 Capital and Lumikai.
The new fund, Krafton says, will allow it to back larger, later-stage opportunities that fall outside the scope of direct balance-sheet investments.
Naver’s participation adds a platform and content edge to the partnership. Often described as South Korea’s answer to Google, the company runs the country’s dominant search engine and a sprawling digital ecosystem covering e-commerce, fintech, cloud, webtoons, messaging, and AI.
Earlier this year, Naver set up a dedicated tech business division focused on India and Spain, signalling its intent to scale globally.
Mirae Asset, meanwhile, brings deep experience in managing cross-border technology funds. Its earlier Asia Growth Fund with Naver has already backed Indian firms such as Zomato, Bigbasket, Shadowfax, ShareChat, and KreditBee, giving the new vehicle a ready-made understanding of the local startup terrain.
For Krafton, the fund complements a string of India-focused moves, including becoming an anchor investor in IMM Investment’s maiden India fund and acquiring a majority stake in Pune-based Nautilus Mobile, maker of the Real Cricket franchise.
The company says it will continue to invest about $50 million annually in India, balancing strategic bets made directly with larger, growth-led investments routed through the new fund.
What is notably off the table, at least for now, is ownership of an IPL team. Despite speculation, Krafton has ruled out any immediate interest, even as it doubles down on cricket-themed gaming and community-led digital experiences.
(With inputs from Reuters)
